Day 2 - Learning New Words through New Year Game

Here is the lesson plan for Day 2. Enjoy! If you find anything that can be improved, please post a comment!

第二日のレッスンプランです。ご意見ご感想お待ちしておりますので、お気軽にお寄せください。また、福笑いに関する英語の説明でうまいものがあれば是非紹介してください。

Vocabulary Lesson: Facial Parts and Directions

Context: The setting is a 9th-grade public high school Japanese class of 13 students in a suburban community in Indiana. The students of the class should have studied simple greetings in Japanese, hiragana (cursive-style Chinese character), katakana (part of a Chinese character), and basic vocabulary. The lesson is 50-minute and ideal for the beginning of the second semester. The lesson focuses on facial parts and directions such as right-left, up-down, east-west, and north-south. The students are encouraged to use the vocabulary as much as possible through different activities and games.

Goals: 1) to learn how to say facial parts in Japanese and 2) to learn how to tell directions in Japanese.

Objectives: After the lesson, the students will be able to 1) say the name of a facial part in Japanese, 2) say the directions in Japanese, 3) tell a location in Japanese, and 4) provide directions to a certain place in Japanese.

Materials: Facial parts cards, two sheets of paper with a person’s face printed on each of them, and blackboard and chalk

Procedures:

Warm-up activity: The students greet the teacher using the simple greetings they learned from the previous semester. Then they tell the teacher about their winter break. Make sure to encourage as many students as possible to speak up and remember what they learned in the previous semester. The activity should take 10 minutes.

Introduction of the new vocabulary: First, the teacher tells the students how to say facial parts in Japanese pointing each facial part of his/her face. The students repeat after the teacher to memorize which is which. Then the teacher goes over facial parts again, but this time the students repeat after the teacher and point their facial parts. The activity should take 5 minutes. If they finish early, the teacher says facial parts randomly to make sure the students memorized everything.

Introduction of directional words: The teacher tells the students how to say directions in Japanese using gestures. For example, if the teacher says “right”, he/she should point left so that they can get the direction correctly. Then the teacher asks a student who is sitting where using the directions they learned. For example, ask questions such as “who is sitting right/left to you?” and “where is X sitting?” The activity should take 5 minutes.

Introduction of four directions: The teacher now tells the students how to say east-west and north-south in Japanese. He/she draws a simple map on the blackboard and tells the students how to say four directions in Japanese. Then the teacher asks a student about the location of a certain building. For example, he/she can ask questions such as “where is the building X located on the map?” and “Is X located (any direction) from Y?” The activity should take 5 minutes.
Showing directions: Use the same map from the previous activity. The teacher assigns 6-7 pairs of two students. One student is a stranger to the city, and the other student is a resident of the city. The stranger asks the resident how to get to a certain place. The resident tries to give directions in Japanese using the vocabulary they learned in the lesson such as right-left, east-west, and north-south. The basic pattern for giving directions is provided by the teacher, but the teacher scaffolds the instruction. The students are encouraged to use ...te, …te pattern (conjunctions) and basic verbs they learned in the previous semester such as iku (to go) and magaru (to turn). If a pair finishes early, the teacher asks the pair to switch the roles. The activity should take 10 minutes.

Fukuwarai (traditional Japanese game): At the end of the lesson the students play fukuwarai. Fukuwarai is a game played by Japanese children or family typically on New Year’s Day. The students are split into two groups, and the teacher gives each team a sheet of paper with a person’s face on it. The face does not have any facial parts. Then the teacher distributes to each team the cards with facial parts printed on them. Each student picks one facial part out of six facial parts (eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hair) and lines up in front of the sheet of paper. After the teacher says “begin”, the students place the card on the face blindfold by turns. Make sure that the students use directional words they learned such as right-left and up-down to give their teammate advice while the student tries to place the facial part on the right place. Once a student places his/her card, it cannot be moved. After both teams finish, the teacher compares their work to the original face and decide which team made the face closer to the original face. The entire activity should take 15 minutes.

Evaluation: Objective 1 is evaluated through the vocabulary activity. The teacher determines each student’s pronunciation during the activity and memorization by asking questions during the introduction part (b). This accounts for 20% of the entire grade of the lesson. Objective 2 is evaluated through the introduction part (c) and fukuwawai. During the introduction part (c), the teacher asks questions to see if they can respond naturally and smoothly using directional words they learned. In the fukuwarai activity, the teacher monitors each student’s participation and make sure that the students are giving advice to their teammate using directional words they learned. This accounts for 20% of the entire grade. Objective 3 is evaluated through the introduction part (d) and the “Showing Directions” activity. During the introduction part (d), the teacher asks questions about four directions (east-west and north-south) to see if they memorized all four directions correctly. During the “Showing Directions” activity, the teacher walks around to see if the students are using four directions correctly in a real-life situation. This accounts for 30% of the entire grade. Objective 4 is evaluated through the “Showing Directions” activity. The teacher walks around the room to see if the students are providing directions clearly by using four directions (east-west and north-south) and simple directional words (right-left). This objective is very useful in a real-life situation when the students want to ask directions in Japanese. Therefore, the teacher should pay extra attention to make sure everyone understands the words and use them correctly. This accounts for 30% of the entire grade.

Homework: The students practice writing down the vocabulary they learned in hiragana at home. This homework is for the vocabulary quiz at the beginning of the next class.

Lesson Plan Draft for W301

This is my lesson plan for W301 class. Hope you enjoy! If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to post a comment!

私が授業で使うつもりのレッスンプランです。ご意見、ご感想是非お寄せください。時間の都合上、英語のみとさせていただきます。日本語訳を希望される方はお知らせください。

Target Audience of the Lesson:
First year (9th grade) Japanese class, second semester, 16 students in one classroom, level of fluency: beginners, have already learned hiragana (Japanese alphabet), basic greetings, simple verbs and nouns for self-introduction

Big Idea of the Lesson:
Virtual Tour of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto

Overall Goal for the Lesson:
Understand four directions (North, South, East, and West) and use them in a sentence to give directions

Indiana Content Standards Addressed: (Copy and paste entire standard from http://www.indianastandards.org/)
1.2.1 Read isolated words and phrases in situational contexts, e.g., menus, signs, schedules.
1.2.2 Comprehend and respond to brief written directions and information.
1.2.4 Respond to simple oral directions and commands.
1.3.4 Give simple commands, directions, and instructions.
1.4.5 Recognize cultural differences, e.g., dress, foods, dwellings, gestures, concept of time, holiday celebrations.
1.5.1 Identify the major products of the foreign culture.
1.6.1 Demonstrate knowledge of the major geographical features (e.g., mountains, rivers, major cities, etc.) of identified countries or regions where the foreign language is spoken.

ISTE CNETS Student Standards Addressed (Copy and paste from http://cnets.iste.org/students/)
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Student Objectives for the lesson. (Given a condition, the students will, to what level).
1) Understand four directions in Japanese, and 2) combine them with simple verbs (e.g., iku=to go, magaru=to turn) to make a sentence to give directions to a certain place

Length of Lesson: (minutes, number of class periods, or days or weeks needed).
Three 50-minute classes

Schedule of Activities: (Break down your activity into a timeline of events. Focus on what students will be doing and what teachers will be doing during each part of the activity.)

First Day

1. Review (Quiz) for last class (10 minutes)
2. Introduce four directions in Japanese (5 minutes)
3. Go to a computer lab, log-in, and start up Google Earth (5-10 minutes)
4. Briefly Explain how to use Google Earth (5 minutes)
5. Visit Tokyo, find places listed on the list, and complete a simple tour-guide map handed by a teacher (15-20 minutes)
6. Answer questions about the map (homework, explanation takes 5 minutes)

Second Day

1. Review (Quiz) for last class (10 minutes)
2. Go to a computer lab, log-in, and start up Google Earth (5-10 minutes)
3. Students are split into two groups
4. Students of group 1 visit Osaka, and students of group 2 visit Kyoto
5. Students find places listed on the list and locate them on an empty map provided by a teacher (3-5 take 15-20 minutes)
6. Students learn how to give directions using directional words and simple verbs they learned (10 minutes)
7. Write down sentences giving directions from one place to another either in Osaka or Kyoto depending on which group a student belongs (homework, explanation takes 5 minutes)

Third Day

1. Review (Quiz) for last class (10 minutes)
2. Students are split into pairs (one from group 1 and one from group 2)
3. A teacher picks one pair, and the pair performs a skit (one student asks directions from one place to another in Osaka, and the other student gives directions, assuming that the student asking directions is a visitor and the other is a resident)
4. Switch the roles and do the same
5. Continue until all pairs perform (30-35 minutes, 3-4 minutes for each pair)
6. Review and announcement from a teacher (5 minutes)
No homework!

How will these activities be assessed? (Go back to your objectives, what will the students do? Make sure that each objective is paired to an assessment measure that allows students to show it).
Objective #1 is evaluated through participation and understanding (20% of the entire grade, a teacher should observe students’ progress in order to evaluate appropriately), completion of the tour-guide map of Tokyo (10%), and homework (10%). Objective #2 is evaluated through participation in #6 of the second day (20%, a teacher should observe students’ progress in order to evaluate appropriately), written skit of the giving directions exercise (20%), and skit performances (20%, criteria for evaluation: pronunciation=5%, grammar and vocabulary usage=5%, fluency=5%, and accuracy=5%).

Adaptations: How might the lesson need to be adapted for students with special needs?
For hearing-impaired students: prepare an outline of what to do during the lesson, write down vocabulary words on the blackboard, and replace the skit performance activity with the activity in which a student draws an arrow on a map from one location to another
For color-blinded students: make sure students understand what is written on Google Earth and provide assistance if they need help reading texts or recognizing a certain color on Google Earth
For students with ADHD: try to have a short break while using Google Earth to locate places so that students can maintain their concentration

Materials Needed: Go through each activity and identify what items (both technology and not) are needed to complete this lesson. Include a breakdown according to individual student or student groups.
Computer lab for the first and the second days, computers for students, Google Earth (Downloaded to the computers they use prior to the lesson), empty maps of Tokyo for completing tour-guide maps, lists of three sightseeing spots in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto

Day 1 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! The winter break is over, and today is the first day of the semester. 9th grade Japanese students are coming into my classroom, some looking excited, others looking tired. Finally it's time to warm up your Japanese brain! Today we share exciting events happened during the winter break. There is nothing challenging except for some new vocabulary words. After warming ourselves up, we learn facial parts and four directional words (right, left, up, and down) in Japanese. Now we are ready for the fun New Year game, fukuwarai! Let's laugh and bring ourselves a good luck on the new year!

皆さん、新年明けましておめでとうございます。冬休みも終わり、いよいよ新学期が始まりました。一年生が次々と教室に入ってきます。新学期に胸を躍らせる生徒もいれば、今年一番の早起きにまだ慣れずに眠そうな顔の生徒もいます。さあ、いよいよ休みの間に怠けきった日本語の頭を回転させる時がやって参りました。今日は冬休みにあったことをみんなで発表し合う日。いくつか出てくる新しい単語を除いて何も難しいことはありませんから、皆さん安心してくださいね。慣れてくれば、今度は新しく顔の部分と方向（上下左右）を日本語で何というかを勉強します。これも後で皆で遊ぶゲームのため、生徒は皆必死に単語を覚えています。これでやっと新年恒例の福笑いができます。皆さん、笑う門には福来たる、今年もたくさん笑ってよい一年にしましょう。

Welcome to Bob's Classroom!

Welcome to Bob's classroom! This blog lets you visit my classroom in the future. I want to share some of my lessons and small tips for prospective high school Japanese teachers. I appreciate your constructive feedbacks!

ようこそ！　このブログでは私が教える日本語教室はどんなものかを紹介していきます。私が考えたレッスンや将来高校で日本語を教えたいという有望な日本語教師のためのアドバイスなども投稿していきたいと考えておりますので、お気軽にご意見などお寄せいただければありがたいです。